Even 35 years on, this film remains accessible, engaging and exciting. Its strength are in the notion that it's a human story first, where the time travel element exists only to create wild and intriguing scenarios.
This movie doesn't suffer the kind of aging seen with other films of the era, as the depictions of both the 1980s and the 1950s are faithful and consistent. Even as the 1980s have started to look more like the 1950s today, it doesn't date itself with any wild predictions about technology and social trends, apart from a cheeky, pandering, but ultimately thrilling final shot, which serves its purpose perfectly.
The films pacing and writing is flawless, with just about every major set piece firmly established then paid off. A solid example of bookmarking, which doesn't appear to be too apparent or jarring on first viewing.
The only thing that prevents this film from being a 10 for me, is it's over reliance on comedy to drive the film. I mean, I understand that this blockbuster was marketed as a comedy, driven by its star talent Michael Fox at the time to get people in cinemas... but its legacy is its adventure. I wish that we had a few more moments of drama and peril interjected, with a more defined focus on causality, particularly as Marty deals with strange and unfamiliar scenarios. The comedy is solid, but it occasionally takes me out of the story. In addition, the films ending is pretty cliche, and the biggest thing that dates the movie today, as the characters happy ending is effectively represented by a gross embodiment of the American dream, and reliance on material possessions.
The creators would get the opportunity to explore different methods of storytelling in the sequels, and they serve fantastically to build the Back to the Future world into something rich and engaging.... but that all starts with this absolutely solid story that could easily stand on its own.
Review by Si McClureBlockedParent2020-10-10T08:49:44Z
Even 35 years on, this film remains accessible, engaging and exciting. Its strength are in the notion that it's a human story first, where the time travel element exists only to create wild and intriguing scenarios.
This movie doesn't suffer the kind of aging seen with other films of the era, as the depictions of both the 1980s and the 1950s are faithful and consistent. Even as the 1980s have started to look more like the 1950s today, it doesn't date itself with any wild predictions about technology and social trends, apart from a cheeky, pandering, but ultimately thrilling final shot, which serves its purpose perfectly.
The films pacing and writing is flawless, with just about every major set piece firmly established then paid off. A solid example of bookmarking, which doesn't appear to be too apparent or jarring on first viewing.
The only thing that prevents this film from being a 10 for me, is it's over reliance on comedy to drive the film. I mean, I understand that this blockbuster was marketed as a comedy, driven by its star talent Michael Fox at the time to get people in cinemas... but its legacy is its adventure. I wish that we had a few more moments of drama and peril interjected, with a more defined focus on causality, particularly as Marty deals with strange and unfamiliar scenarios. The comedy is solid, but it occasionally takes me out of the story. In addition, the films ending is pretty cliche, and the biggest thing that dates the movie today, as the characters happy ending is effectively represented by a gross embodiment of the American dream, and reliance on material possessions.
The creators would get the opportunity to explore different methods of storytelling in the sequels, and they serve fantastically to build the Back to the Future world into something rich and engaging.... but that all starts with this absolutely solid story that could easily stand on its own.